


a light never goes out

by untokki



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Drabble, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21879823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/untokki/pseuds/untokki
Summary: Christmas means nothing to Seto, but everything to Joey.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41
Collections: te leeré luego





	a light never goes out

“So when are we gonna go get a tree?”

The question made Seto glance away from his laptop screen for just a moment before his eyes focused on the too-bright screen again. The consistent typing on the keyboard continued, and when the question was repeated, the brunet shut the computer. He looked at the blond sitting beside him with a blank stare. “Why would we get a tree?” he asked.

Joey blinked at the response, tilting his head to the side and searching Seto’s eyes. His mouth was stuck somewhere between gaping and smiling. “You’re joking, right?”

No words left the taller man. He merely waited for Joey to explain whatever it was he wanted a tree for.

“Christmas?” Joey asked, his head falling forward slightly in exasperation. “You know, the holiday? You put up a tree, give gifts, all that joy and holly and mistletoe stuff?”

“Oh,” Seto opened his laptop again, glancing at the date in the corner of the screen for just a moment before going back to writing the proposal to a new release. “We don’t get a tree.”

“Where do you put your presents, then?” Joey questioned. He looked around the large living room, seemingly scoping out a place where said gifts could be placed on Christmas morning. 

“We don’t put them anywhere. I give Mokuba a present and I give Roland a holiday raise.”

“You’re  _ joking _ ,” Joey said again. 

“Would you cut that out?”

Joey reached over and shut the laptop once again, looking straight into Seto’s eyes with furrowed brows. Seto kept his typical countenance, waiting for the other to speak. “So you just don’t celebrate Christmas. Like, at all.”

“It’s a consumer holiday,” Seto explained to him. “And I’m a producer. I don’t see any reason to celebrate it. I’m not a Christian and I don’t have kids, so I don’t celebrate. Okay?”

“What about Mokuba?”

“He celebrates in his own way with his friends.”

Joey seemed disappointed by that answer, as he uncurled his legs from their place on the couch and stood up with his arms crossed over his chest. “I’ll celebrate with him this year.”

“Be my guest,” Seto said, his attention immediately redirected to his computer screen.

Joey hummed and looked around the room, making a show of what he was doing by putting his hands up, as if to measure the dimensions. When he had gaged the room in its entirety, he left with a nod.

❅

By some miracle (and it was  _ not  _ a Christmas miracle, Seto told himself), Seto was home before the clock turned to the next day. The sun was setting, covering the foyer in a honey orange glow. He slipped his coat off and threw his keys into the dish by the front door, ready to rest for just a bit. However, just as he was going to close the grand wood door behind him, he found a blob of green wobbling up the pathway to the house. He stared at the bouncing pine tree until Joey’s face popped out from behind it. “Well, aren’t you strong?” he joked to the younger man, stepping aside and opening the door wider so the blond could bring the tree inside. When he got in, he set the trunk down on the floor and heaved a loud breath. 

“Sure is heavier than it looks,” Joey commented. The tree was still wrapped in the green plastic webbing from the tree lot, and in his other hand, Joey held a stand for it. “But I’ve got it myself,” he grinned.

“Do you… want help?” Seto hesitated, watching as his boyfriend hoisted the tree up again and brought it through the archway and into the living room.

“I’m fine,” he said, propping the plant up against the wall before slightly moving two armchairs. He put down the plastic stand and finally got the tree in it, crawling beneath the green needles to tighten the base. When he got back on his feet, he brushed a few fallen needles off his shoulders. The tree stood proud between the two armchairs, matching with the dark browns and natural tones that decorated the living room. It complimented the few plants that adorned the surfaces in the room, and it’s location in front of the sliding glass door that led to the backyard was perfect. Joey put his hands on his hips as a smile glided on his lips. 

Footsteps came down the stairway, and Joey looked back into the foyer just in time to find Mokuba’s opened mouth. The boy ran into the living room, stopping right beside the blond. “We got a tree this year?”

“Thanks to yours truly,” Joey stated, oozing with pride. He grinned at Mokuba. “You guys got ornaments or lights?”

The black-haired boy shook his head. “We’ve never had a tree before.”

“Well, I guess we’ve gotta buy some then, huh?” Joey ruffled Mokuba’s hair, earning a cheer from the young boy. Joey looked over at Seto, who was standing in the entrance way to the room. “You wanna come with us to go to the store?”

Seto was already turning on his heel by the time Joey was done asking. “I’ve got work to do,” he said, and by the time a frown was on Joey’s face, he already could hear Seto’s steps going up the staircase.

❅

Seto woke up to an empty bed, which made his head spin for a moment. In the year he had dated Joey, Seto had always rose for the day hours before the blond. Even if he tried to wake the younger man, his head would fall back into the pillows and the blankets would be pulled up to his nose again. Checking the clock told him it wasn’t even eight a.m. yet, and for a Saturday morning, being out of bed that early was sacreligious for Joey.

Seto made his way downstairs after taking a shower and getting ready for the day, and once he rounded the corner and walked into the living room, he found where his lost boyfriend had settled himself. Joey was sat on the sofa with Mokuba beside him, and they both were cutting up white pieces of paper. Judging by the mess on the table, Seto could only assume they were making paper snowflakes. “You’re up early,” Seto commented, startling the blond.

Joey set his scissors on the table before standing up. “I’ve got to cover an early shift,” he explained. He met Seto with a peck to his lips before walking past him. The click of the front door signalled he had left. 

“Wanna make a snowflake?” Mokuba asked from where he sat on the floor, his back leaning against the couch. He held out the scissors Joey had abandoned, with the handle pointing towards Seto, of course. After a moment of contemplation, Seto sat down on the couch and took the scissors offered to him. “How long were you two doing this?” he asked his brother.

“Probably an hour,” Mokuba shrugged, his attention on the paper he was cutting. When he unfolded the paper, it looked just like a typical snowflake. He placed it in the small pile on the table.

It was then that Seto realized the tree had been decorated in blue and red orbs, with white lights strung through the branches. Three stockings hung from the fireplace-- _ S, J,  _ and  _ M _ \--in order. Garland was strewn around the few typical decorations on the mantle, as well as two bottle brush Christmas trees on either edge. The snowflakes that weren’t on the coffee table where taped to the glass doors. “Did Joey do all of this?”

“Basically, yeah. I helped him a little bit, but he did almost all of it. He asked Roland to hang up lights outside, too.”

Seto leaned back against the couch, the scissors in his hand now pointing the blade to the ceiling. “He… really is going all out, isn’t he?” he said, but it was more to himself rather than a question for Mokuba.

“I dunno if he would want me to tell you this, but,” Mokuba started, freeing his hands for a moment and rubbing the back of his neck. “He said this is his first good Christmas. Because of moving out of his dad’s house, y’know.”

A hand came up to cover Seto’s eyes and he threw his head back against the cushions. He murmured a curse. “God, I’m an idiot.”

❅

Joey came home from work with a yawn on his lips and a coat covered in snow. He had picked up an advent calendar on his way home, and though the next day was Christmas Eve, he still felt it was nice to have for the following years. He placed the house-shaped decoration on the side table near the front door, and when he found Seto’s car keys sitting in the bowl on that table, he raised an eyebrow. Typically, the elder was working on the weekends, unless they planned for something in advance. His confusion grew at the pleasant sugary smell wafting in from the kitchen, and Joey let his nose lead him to the source.

Seto had his back to Joey, his black turtleneck covered by a plain white apron. He had an oven mitt on one hand and was checking his phone with his free one. The blue numbers on the oven counted down, and in three minutes and twenty-seven seconds, whatever was baking would be finished. Joey sneaked on his toes, coming up behind the taller man and letting his arms snake around to Seto’s front. He leaned his chin on his shoulder, but none of his touches startled the elder. “Hello,” Seto said simply, his eyes still on his phone. Joey glanced over and found that he was looking at a recipe for Christmas sugar cookies. 

“Whatcha doin’?” Joey feigned ignorance, instead burrowing his face into the crook of Seto’s neck. 

“Baking.”  
“Well, I can see _that. _Why, though?”  
“They’re Christmas cookies. I thought the three of us could decorate them after they cool.”

“Seriously?”

Seto glanced back at him from the corner of his eye. “Am I ever not serious?”

Joey grinned and kissed his cheek, earning an upturn to Seto’s lips before the elder turned back to look at the timer. “So, you’re finally in the Christmas spirit, huh?”

“Let’s just say a little elf enlightened me on something,” Seto said softly, taking the oven mitt of his hand and instead clasping the hand Joey had dangling in front of his waist. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s no big deal. I just wished we could have done all of this together, y’know?”

“There’s always next year,” Seto commented, his hand gripping Joey’s just a bit tighter. When the timer went off, the two stepped away from each other and Seto retrieved the mitt again, leaning over to open the oven and take out the tray of crisply cooked desserts.

“You bought frosting and sprinkles and all that stuff?” Joey asked as the brunet took off the mitt one last time and stowed it away in one of the kitchen drawers.

“No, I was hoping we would go to the store together.”

“I’d like that,” Joey smiled up at him.

❅

On Christmas Eve, once Mokuba had announced he was going to bed, Joey and Seto found themselves wrapping the boy’s presents in the living room. Wrapping paper tubes and bows were passed between them, and as Joey folded over colorful paper and taped the edges, Seto slid scissors down matching ribbon in order to get the perfect curl. Each present was placed under the tree, and when Joey finally put down the last one, he looked up at the tree was a little gasp. 

“What is it?” Seto asked from his place on the couch, looking at the tree to find if anything had happened to it.

“We didn’t put the star on top,” Joey said. Without another word, he left the room, and came back just moments later. He had a white star in his hands, the bottom shaped so it would fit on the top of the tree. Seto stood up when he saw that, and followed Joey back to the tree. The blond looked at it for a moment before meeting eyes with the other man. “Well, go on,” Seto said.

The smile on Joey’s lips was sad, but he nodded his head. “I never thought I was gonna be able to do this again,” he said. “Before my parents got divorced, we always decorated a tree. Never got one when it was just me and my dad.”

Seto snaked an arm around Joey’s waist, and though he didn’t speak, the kiss he shared with Joey said enough. After a moment of silence, Joey leaned up on his toes to place the star on the tree. The couple stepped back to look at it, with the white lights reflecting off the blue and red bulbs and glittering in the darkness of the night. “Merry Christmas,” Seto whispered.

He was met with the same words in response, and Joey’s head coming to rest against his shoulder as the fireplace crackled and the string lights glowed against their skin.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm still a bit rusty when it comes to writing fanfic, and i wish i could still do my little ideas justice like i used to, but i've just got to get back into the swing of things!


End file.
